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What is an Ubuntu localized image?

Due to space restrictions, the official Ubuntu installation CDs (also known as ISO images) that can be downloaded from ubuntu.com contain only a handful of the many languages in which Ubuntu is available. Any additional languages can then be downloaded during or after the installation.

Localized images are customized versions of the original media, which are modified to include the translation of a particular language or other modifications that are relevant to a particular location.

They make it possible to have native language support upon installation and without the need of a working Internet connection. In addition to the language, they also enable customizing other aspects of Ubuntu to make it more relevant to a particular culture or region.

Remember to substitute {defaultspackagename} by the name of your package. The convention for package names is ubuntu-defaults-{locale}, where {locale} is the 2-letter or 3-letter ISO 639-2 code for your locale. E.g. a defaults package for a Catalan-speaking region would be ubuntu-defaults-ca

At this point you can modify all the relevant settings to your locale in the .txt files in that directory. They are all documented and contain examples.

Build the defaults package

What you created in the previous step is a source package, which you now need to build in order to make it an installable package.

Now run the following command to build the package:

dpkg-buildpackage

If all goes well, you'll have a package with a .deb extension on the parent folder. Something like myprojectdefaults_0.1_all.deb

Build your ISO image from the local package

Now run the command to create the image. You will need a working Internet connection and a couple of GB free to be able to run the command. This will take some minutes to complete-

ubuntu-defaults-image --package ../myprojectdefaults_0.1_all.deb

The resulting image is the one with the .iso extension

Note: as an alternative to using a local package, you can set up a PPA and use the following command (this example assumes you've named your package ubuntu-defaults-ca in the PPA):